John Webster

Leah Marcus

The Duchess of Malfi is one of the major tragedies of theearly modern period and remains popular in the theatre as well as inthe classroom. The story of the Duchess's secret marriage and the cruelrevenge of her brothers has fascinated and appalled audiences forcenturies. This new Arden edition offers readers a comprehensive, illustratedintroduction to the play's historical, critical and performancehistory. The text is modernised and edited to the highest scholarlystandards, with textual notes and commentary notes on the same page forease of reference. This is the lead title in the launch of The Arden Early ModernDrama Series, a series which offers all the depth and quality ofthinking long associated with the Arden. The edition will be valued bystudents, teachers and theatre professionals.

The Duchess of Malfi

Unediting the Renaissance is a path-breaking and timely look at the issues of the textual editing of Renaissance works. Both erudite and accessible, it will be a fascinating and provocative read for any Renaissance student or scholar. Leah Marcus argues that `bad' versions of Renaissance texts such as Shakespeare's First Folio should not be viewed as mutilated copies of originals, but rather reputable alternatives encoding differences in ideology, cultural meaning and other elements of performance. Marcus focuses on key Renaissance works- Dr Faustus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet and poems by Milton, Donne and Herrick - to re-exmaine how editorial intervention shapes the texts which are widely accepted as `definitive'. Examining the cultural attitudes, fears and influences which influence textual editors, from the seveteenth century to the present day, Marcus sheds new light on a previously unexamined aspect of Renaissance studies. A lively critique of current theoretical practices, Unediting the Renaissance will shift the ways in which Shakespeare and his contemporaries are edited and read.

Leah Marcus

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